Every Second Counts
by Zeiyuu
Summary: Gajeel and Lucy meet on a dating app, things are going pretty well for the new couple! Unfortunately for the two of them, somebody isn't too happy about that. A bit of a scary one! Read at your own risk.


A fic for the lovely Mistye-dawn on Tumblr~

And I'd like to give a shoutout to the AMAZING Shell1331 for being my beta for this fic!

 **WARNING** : Rated T for foul language and mature situations.

* * *

It had been about six months since Lucy had started to IM with Gajeel before she finally asked for his number. She remembered just how shocked he had seemed at her request—it had actually been quite humorous.

 _Irondeath: Shut up! You just took me by surprise, that's all._

 _Starryeyedbunny: So… is this a rejection? I'm hurt!_

 _Irondeath: No just… dammit bunny you are embarrassing me. 521-7001_

 _Starryeyedbunny: How am I embarrassing you?! I should be the one who is embarrassed!_

 _Irondeath: Just text me so I have your number too all right? Damn._

 _Starryeyedbunny: lol yes sir!_

They'd texted all through the night after that. Something that might seem silly to get excited about, but then… It had been a long time since anybody had actually managed to catch Lucy's attention.

She'd met Gajeel on a dating app for locals in her area. He'd been the first guy who hadn't asked for more pictures than the ones that she had posted. Or hadn't sent any…unrequested pictures of his own.

She also had liked the fact that he didn't ask for her number right off the bat. Lucy kind of liked to use the app's messenger for a while, just to be sure that she only gave her cell phone number to guys who she was actually interested in. It made her feel safer that way.

One of her good friends, Cana Alberona, had been a bit on the careless side and gave out her number somewhat haphazardly. Because of that, she wound up with quite a few stalkers, one of which actually warranted obtaining a restraining order. It had been terrifying to everybody involved.

Lucy had let Cana stay with her for a couple weeks during that time.

* * *

It had been somewhat daunting to see the normally confident young woman to be so…scared. In all the years that she had known Cana, Lucy had never seen her in the state that she had been then. Which, of course, was entirely understandable.

The guy—they'd later found out—had been an escaped institutionee. He'd been locked back up the moment the police caught him creeping outside of Lucy's apartment complex.

So even though all of that was done and over with, Lucy was extra cautious when it came to online dating. Truthfully, if it weren't for the fact that Lucy didn't have any other means to meet men, Lucy probably wouldn't have even considered the option.

Presently, Lucy was working at a call center. While it allowed her plenty of time to work on her stories, it did cut into her socializing skills quite a bit. It wasn't until her co-worker, Levy, suggested trying out a dating site that she had been using. She'd said that it was pretty good. And that it was even how she'd met her current boyfriend, Freed Justine.

"You just need to know when to say 'no.' Because some of the guys on there are a bit…off." Levy had given Lucy plenty of tips before helping the blonde to set up an account. She'd certainly appreciated the assistance.

Gajeel had actually been one of the first people to start talking with her. At first, Lucy had been hesitant , because it seemed strange to talk to a complete stranger with the intention to become…involved romantically.

Apparently, Gajeel had felt just as weirded out about the whole thing as she was. Which had been surprisingly reassuring to Lucy. They texted throughout the day, pretty much everyday since they first started messaging.

Lucy realized what it was like to fall in love with somebody before even meeting them. So Lucy had worked up the courage to try to push their relationship to the next level, in a way. How Lucy saw it was, if they trusted each other enough to share their phone numbers…then perhaps they could trust each other to meet in person.

It was interesting though, because despite how they would text, Gajeel also seemed partial to using the messenger on the dating app that they'd met on. Lucy didn't really think all that much of it. Perhaps he enjoyed the layout on the app more.

 _Irondeath: Let's go see a movie, or get something to eat._

 _Starryeyedbunny: lol okay, you could have texted me that you know_

 _Irondeath: Is this you…rejecting me?_

 _Starryeyedbunny: I can't believe you! Yes. Let's do both! I heard that new Fairy Tail movie is finally in theaters, so we could go see that and maybe get something to eat after?_

 _Irondeath: sounds good to me bunny, should I pick you up or do you want to meet there?_

 _Starryeyedbunny: I can meet you there! Wear something in one of your pictures so I know it's you!_

 _Irondeath: The piercings won't be enough?_

 _Starryeyedbunny: …. Good point… I will see you at the AMC around 8? I just checked the times._

 _Irondeath: Sounds good to me, see you in a bit._

Lucy's heart had been racing after that conversation, it had just about beaten out of her chest actually. For they had finally set a time and a place to meet. Lucy was excited and had immediately called Levy over for outfit help.

"Lucy Heartfilia needs help picking out a dress? When did pigs learn how to fly?!" Levy had joked, but of course she came over to help.

Lucy had looked breathtaking during their first date. While the blonde hadn't left the apartment without being certain that this would be the case, seeing the look on Gajeel's face when he first caught sight of her had been enough to take her breath away as well.

Their following dates all went well, and soon they were hanging out on a regular basis. Lucy couldn't help but notice that nearly every time they made plans, it was through the dating app.

Until now.

For the first time since they'd started texting… Gajeel texted her, saying that he would be over that night.

It hadn't really taken Lucy by surprise when he switched to messaging her on the dating app soon after that. She was going to have to actually ask him about that one day. It wouldn't be a big deal if it didn't eat up so much of her data while she was at work.

She decided that she would cook dinner for him. At this point in their relationship, they had actually been seeing each other for close to four months. Yet during all that time…she hadn't made him dinner once. Usually they ordered takeout or pizza. Then one night he had even made her dinner, so she supposed it was time to break out the frying pan and wash off all the cobwebs. Lucy couldn't remember the last time she had cooked for even herself.

By the time nine p.m. rolled around, Lucy finished making dinner. She sighed before walking to the island where her touchscreen laptop sat. She pulled up the dating app's video chat and poked Gajeel's face with her only non-grimy finger. She walked away fromt he computer so that she could wash her hands.

"Yo, Bunny—nice ass." Lucy rolled her eyes, but she was smiling as she swayed her hips enticingly. "What did I do to deserve this show?" he asked after a moment.

Lucy turned, wiping her hands dry on a clean dishrag. "When are you going to get here? Dinner will get cold! I figured you would be on your way by now. I wasn't really expecting you to answer." Lucy watched as the sly grin fell from Gajeel's face.

"What do you mean, Bunny?" he asked, frowning. "You should have told me if you wanted me to come over. I was kind of just planning on staying in tonight."

This confused Lucy. "Do you need to see a doctor?" she asked with a raised eyebrow. "You are the one who asked to hang out tonight, remember?" Lucy groaned. "I made dinner and everything!"

"Bunny? When did I ask that? We've only messaged a little bit today."

Leaning against the counter, Lucy tried to remember an exact time.

"Well, you texted me about it around noon." She folded her arms across her chest and sent him a pointed look. "The reason I remember it so vividly and am so certain that you definitely wanted to is because you never ask to hang out over text—it's always on the app."

Lucy watched as Gajeel's confusion shifted into complete perplexity.

"Lucy, I don't have your phone number"—his voice was serious—"I thought that I had put it in my phone, but when I went to text you a day after that first…your number was gone. And so were all the text messages. I was too embarrassed to tell you what happened, so I stuck with messaging you on the dating app."

All through Gajeel's explanation, Lucy felt her blood gradually run cold as gooseflesh rose on her arms.

"Bunny… I'm not the one who texted you!" Gajeel shouted, now standing up, showing Lucy that he was only wearing boxers. "Fuck, call the police, I'm coming over right now!"

Before Gajeel had even finished talking, there was a knock on the door, and Lucy jumped. She moved so quickly to the door. She always left the door unlocked when she knew that Gajeel would be coming over; she'd been meaning to make him a copy of her key…but had never gotten around to it. She slammed both the lock on the door and then the deadbolt into place. Shortly after that, she could hear heavy banging, as though whoever it was outside had begun to slam their body against the door in an attempt to break through.

Judging by the weak sounds the door was making…the unknown person would win that fight.

Lucy's breathing became erratic as she ran back into the kitchen so she could grab a knife and her phone. A quick glance at her computer showed her that Gajeel was in his car. His phone must have been tossed onto the passenger seat of his car.

Lucy couldn't waste time looking at her boyfriend though—she needed to call the police.

She could now hear the sound of banging even more clearly, and she shoved the phone to her ear after dialing three numbers and pressing send.

"Magnolia—"

"Somebody is trying to break into my apartment!" Lucy whispered frantically. She then spat out the exact location of her apartment. The person on the other line was saying something, but Lucy was having a difficult time understanding what it was they were trying to communicate with her.

"They are trying to break my door open!"

"Ma'am, is there anywhere you can hide?" the person asked.

"I… I don't have any good spots." Tears pricked at the corners of Lucy's eyes when wood exploded from where the door had once stood.

A man, a very tall man, stood in the doorway. From the way his shoulders rose and fell, Lucy could guess that he was breathing pretty hard. He wore a plastic mask. One of those plastic masks that distorted ones facial features in an extremely terrifying way. He also wore a red wig. The spiky hair was long and slightly off center.

Lucy ducked behind her kitchen counter. The man hadn't seen her yet—she hoped.

With the speed at which Lucy's heart was racing, she wouldn't be surprised if she simply died of a heart attack before the guy managed to find her.

Lucy absolutely despised how weak she was acting. She wanted to be brave… God, she wanted to be brave. But she was terrified. The fear easily surpassed any other fear she'd experienced in her short lifetime.

She wanted her mother. She wanted to hide under her blankets until the Scary Thing(™) went away.

She wished that Gajeel was there.

"Oh Lucy," a deep and terrifying voice called in a horrifying attempt at "alluring".

Lucy's heart dropped into her stomach as chills ran down her spine.

This was very real. Lucy was actually in this situation. She almost couldn't believe it. It felt like one of those stupid horror films that Gajeel was always getting her to watch despite her…paranoia.

As a writer, Lucy tended to have a bit of an overactive imagination. This definitely included, but was not limited to, worrying about situations exactly like the one that was happening to her right in that moment.

Horror films and stories definitely fed her paranoia.

"I'm surprised you didn't leave the door unlocked like you usually do when you know that somebody is coming over." A pause. "Dinner smells incredible. Did you do all of this for me?" His voice was getting closer, and Lucy could hear the sound of boots on her hardwood floor. He was approaching the kitchen. The man was moving at such a slow pace, she couldn't help but think about a cat that was stalking its prey.

That's exactly what she was, wasn't it? Prey?

Her grip on the knife tightened, and she tensed. No. She refused to be somebody's prey. She refused.

"I know you're here, Lulu… You're making me sad by not coming out to say hi. You don't want to make me sad, do you?"

Maybe if he got close enough, she could stab him in the leg and make a break for the door before he could even spot her.

Preparing the knife, Lucy waited.

The man was wearing dark green cargo pants, but they were just out of her reach. She didn't want to go for it unless she was absolutely certain that she would make contact.

"Hey!" Lucy's heart jumped into her throat when she remembered that Gajeel was still on her laptop, and it seemed to take the intruder by surprise as well. He took a step back, and Lucy would bet her left lung that the guy was looking around in an attempt to find the source of her boyfriend's voice.

"You better get the fuck out of there before I show up. I'm right around the corner, asshole! I will fuck you up if you so much as touch a single hair on her head!"

Lucy knew that it was physically impossible for Gajeel to be so close already, but this guy didn't.

Gajeel lived on the other side of town. Even if he broke every traffic law, it would take Gajeel at least another ten minutes before he would arrive at her apartment complex. Hopefully the police would get here by then though.

Hopefully… Lucy would be out of there before even then though.

"I'm afraid you will never have the chance to see your girlfriend again, Redfox." The man laughed loudly, a crude sound. "Well…"

Without warning, Lucy was being jerked up by her hair. She screamed as her head banged against the edge of the island, and she accidentally dropped the knife due to the sheer shock of what had happened.

"Lucy!" Gajeel shouted. It was clear that he was now holding his phone in one hand while he held the steering wheel with the other. Through Lucy's tear blurred vision, she could see the pain written across Gajeel's face. Pain as well as pure, unadulterated rage.

"At least…" The man put his face close to Lucy's. So close, the edge of his plastic mask pressed against her cheek almost painfully. "You will never see her again in person. Not warm and breathing anyway." Something about this man seemed…familiar. But Lucy couldn't quite figure out what made her feel that way. She usually could remember somebody's voice pretty well, and she did recognize his.

But from where?

She couldn't figure it out.

"I will fucking kill you." Gajeel's voice was dangerously low. Lucy had never heard it like that before. She'd always had a feeling that Gajeel could be scary, though she'd never actually had the opportunity to witness that side of him herself.

Finally, Lucy could hear sirens approaching, but… so could the man.

"Happy Halloween!" The guy laughed again before slamming the laptop shut and throwing it onto the ground. Then, his fingers curled around her neck. "Sorry it has to be this way, my love." He slammed her head against the island, and everything went black. As though somebody had flicked a light switch off.

When Lucy came to, the pain that she felt from her head was what caught her immediate attention. After that…it was the damp darkness. Was she blind? Lucy blinked a few times just to make sure that her eyes were even open.

There was a distinct dripping sound that occurred every five seconds or so, the only indicator Lucy had to tell her that she was not deaf.

Where was she?

Just that one question was enough to bring back some memories as to what had happened to get her in this position.

Fear wrapped itself around Lucy, and she began to move. Or at least, she tried to. The sound of chains rattling against a hard surface reached her ears, and she knew that she was restrained. She could feel the cool of metal against her wrists, ankles, and neck.

No. No no no no. The single word repeated itself in her mind, and she might have even been speaking. It was difficult for Lucy to really think of anything besides the fact she was in somebody's torture dungeon. At least…that was the assumption that Lucy had. She couldn't even imagine any other reason as to why she would be kidnapped and trapped somewhere dark.

Assuming that she wasn't actually blind.

"Help!" Lucy shouted, her voice cracking with desperation. "Someone please! Help me!" She knew that the chances of somebody hearing her were—

"Would you shut up? We don't want him coming back down here earlier than expected." Somebody easily sliced through Lucy's thoughts.

The blonde flinched. Somebody else was very close to her. She sounded… "Cana…?" Lucy asked slowly, and she could hear the other person breathe in quickly.

"Lucy? No. Please tell me that isn't you, Lucy." Lucy's throat dried up, and she gritted her teeth.

"Y-yeah… Don't tell me this is the guy from last year…"

"It is." Cana's voice sounded strained. "But I'm guessing that he escaped again or something. I was told that I would be notified the moment he was released. Actually, I'm pretty sure they told me that I would be notified beforehand. Though I wasn't given the impression that it would be likely for him to be released at all. It also looks like he has done some…self improvement." A few moments of silence filled the air before Cana continued. "He wasn't nearly as strong back then as he is now. It is honestly a little bit impressive, to go through that much change in just one year? I feel like most people would have taken much longer to become this strong."

Lucy sighed. "That's why I couldn't figure out why he seemed so familiar. The guy from last year was so squirrely." Granted, Lucy had only seen a very pixelated picture of the man.

"Fucking determination to be a freak… I just don't know why you are here too, Lucy. I'm so sorry. He wouldn't even know who you were if you hadn't let me stay with you that time."

"It's…it's okay. You couldn't have known this would happen. How long have you been down here? What does he want with us?" Lucy was afraid of the answer to both questions. Admittedly, since she had started to date Gajeel, Lucy hadn't been very good at keeping in touch with a few of her other friends. Cana being one of those friends.

"It's hard to tell. I honestly lost track of time. It feels like it has been a really long time though. Lucy, you need to get out of here, as soon as you possibly can. This guy doesn't have any resignations. He probably brought you here because he is tired of playing with me. I wouldn't be surprised if he gets rid of me when he comes back." Cana scoffed, but there was no mirth in the sound.

"Don't say that, Cana!" Lucy jerked against her chains, though they seemed to be firmly in place. She doubted that she would be capable of breaking out on her own. "That isn't going to happen, you are not going anywhere. Do you hear me?"

"Lucy, I wish I had your confidence." Another hollow laugh, and Lucy knew that Cana had to have gone through some kind of hell down there. A hell that Lucy would likely come to understand if the two of them didn't manage to escape sometime soon.

"My boyfriend knows what happened. He will look for us. The police too. We are going to be found, I promise." Lucy didn't make promises that she couldn't absolutely make good on usually, but she needed to do what she could to keep Cana from giving up. The blonde couldn't even begin to imagine what she would do if anything were to happen to Cana while Lucy was right there. While she couldn't even raise her arms more than an inch from the cold, concrete floor.

The writer would absolutely shatter.

"He will probably come down here soon. I'm so sorry, Lucy." Cana apologized again, and Lucy could tell that her friend was likely trying not to cry. Or at least, trying to keep her voice from breaking. Lucy once more reminded Cana that she didn't blame her before she began to mentally prepare herself for whatever she was going to have to go through.

The two sat—or rather, lay—in silence for a long time before Lucy could hear footsteps above them. Then, a crack of light appeared seemingly out of nowhere in the ceiling a little ways away from where the girls were chained. Then, a square of light illuminated the darkness she had begun to finally get used to. Just below that golden square of life was a set of old stairs. They looked to be extremely old and even rotted. But before she could get a good look at the basement itself, a pair of boots became visible.

There were those cargo pants. Was it still the day before Halloween? Time seemed to flow so much more slowly in that basement. Or wherever they were. Part of her was expecting to see that plastic mask and red wig. But with his back to the light behind him, it was impossible to really see his descriptive features. He was almost entirely shadowed over, though she could tell that his hair was...some shade of brown?

"You're awake! Sorry I hit you so hard. I guess I don't know my own strength." The man laughed as he hurried the rest of the way down the stairs. Lucy glared. "Wow, you are so much more beautiful when you are looking at me directly." He was standing just a few feet away from her now, and it hurt a little to strain her eyes so much. She likely would have gagged at his backhanded compliment if it weren't for the fact that she was practically paralyzed with fear.

"Let us go," Lucy finally managed through her clenched teeth. "You can't just keep people like this; we are not animals!"

"Oh, I like them feisty." The man almost growled his approval. "I was getting kind of sad when sweet, sweet Cana stopped fighting so much." He sighed, and Lucy was glad she couldn't see the look on his presumably disgusting face.

"Just let us go." Lucy tried to keep from outright begging. "We won't tell anybody, just let us go!"

Another laugh, and Lucy began to tremble.

"Why would I trust that?" Lucy bit her lip. "I think the second you have the chance you would go to the police. I'd be stupid to let you go, even if I wanted to."

"No!" Lucy denied immediately. "I don't even know what you look like, so what would I say that could be traced back to you?"

"Oh, right. It is pretty dark down here." The man seemed thoughtful, and for a split second…Lucy began to hope.

Then, a bright, near blinding light assaulted Lucy's eyes.

It took a few long moments before her eyes were able to adjust to the crudely bright fluorescent lights. She could see everything, and suddenly any prior bravery that she may have had was gone. So far gone, Lucy couldn't be sure it had ever truly been there in the first place.

Rust-colored eyes met with chocolate brown, and Lucy's tremors transformed into full-blown shaking with fear.

"Is that better?" he asked with a grin.

"If you hear from your girlfriend or remember anything else…you contact us. Immediately." Gajeel rubbed the back of his head as he nodded slowly.

Then, he left. Lucy's apartment was a crime scene, and the police didn't want him contaminating any of the potential evidence. As if he could. He spent so much time at that apartment, there was likely just as much of his DNA and fingerprints as there were Lucy's.

Because Gajeel had an alibi, he hadn't been asked to stick around for the moment.

Gajeel was more than ready to get the fuck out of there and start looking for his girlfriend himself. While the police were doing their job, the raven-haired man didn't believe that they were doing enough to find Lucy. They hadn't seen the look on her face before the call had been forcefully ended.

"Gajeel!"

Great. Just what he didn't need.

Levy's eyes were wild when she approached him from the entrance to the apartment complex, "Is it true?! Is Lucy gone?!" Her green-haired boyfriend placed a hand on the shrimp's shoulder, but she shrugged it off immediately.

"I can't talk right now," Gajeel grumbled before moving to walk around the couple, but Levy was determined to be a pain in his ass.

"This is serious, Gajeel! I want to know what happened to my best friend!"

"Levy," Freed began, but the bluenette just stared at Gajeel.

"You think I don't know that?!" Gajeel snapped before bending down so that he could look the young woman straight in the eyes. "I just watched my girlfriend's head get slammed onto the counter. And this psycho has her now, because there was nothing that I could do about it."

Levy looked like she would be sick as her hands flew to her mouth and tears fell down her cheeks. But Gajeel was numb. He didn't feel any guilt as his girlfriend's best friend began to sob. He'd tried to avoid subjecting her to the details, and Gajeel really wasn't in the mood to sugar coat his girlfriend's kidnapping. It must have been his roommate, Rogue, who had reached out to Levy. Though, really, Gajeel couldn't even bring himself to get angry about that either. All of his actual anger was reserved for the man who took Lucy.

Walking around the couple, Gajeel headed to his truck, which was still warm from his race there twenty minutes prior.

How could somebody disappear in such a short period of time? It was daunting to think about.

He hadn't beaten the cops to Lucy's apartment, though he supposed that was probably a good thing. He would have looked a lot more suspicious at the scene of the crime if he'd gotten there first.

Gajeel climbed into his truck and sat there for a long time. He stared at the picture strip he had of himself and Lucy that they'd taken at the town's summer festival. He had stuck it right on his dash so that he could see Lucy, even while he was at work.

Though seeing her smiling face seemed more like a lie.

"Dammit!" Gajeel wanted to punch something, someone. But he knew what little effect that would have. He was so angry. But mostly, he was afraid. Something horrible had happened to Lucy, something horrible could very well still be happening. And there was nothing that he could do about it.

He'd never felt so powerless in his entire life. He'd pretty much always had some kind of control. His adoptive father had just about let him do whatever he wanted, so long as he wasn't a danger to himself or others. And managed to keep his grades up in school.

His cell phone vibrated, and he was tempted to simply roll down the window and toss the device outside. He didn't want to deal with anybody. But…he pulled out his phone out of his jacket pocket and squinted at the unfamiliar phone number that the text message had been sent from. It was a picture message. Gajeel wasn't typically one who got random messages like that, so he decided to give it a look, his curiosity winning out in the end.

And he nearly dropped his phone.

There she was, his Lucy. She was chained down to a bed and he could see that she'd been bleeding on her head. She looked absolutely terrified.

 _Heads or Tails?_

Gajeel didn't even know what to think at first. Another text message appeared. A message that got his brain functioning at high speed.

 _Go to the police and you will see Lucy much sooner than you think. But I can't promise it will all be in one piece._

His grip tightened on the cell phone, and Gajeel actually had to force himself to relax before he texted back.

 _What do you want?_

It only took a few moments before another text message came in.

 _I want you to remember this feeling that you have right now. I want you to feel jealous. I want you to loathe the man who has his hands on your girlfriend. Then…I'm going to give you a time limit. If you don't find your precious girl by then, she will lose a piece of herself. A piece that she can never get back._

His frozen fingers were moving faster than the actual words were forming in his mind.

 _Give me some fucking clues, you asshole! He swallowed anxiously while he waited for a reply to come._

Only, it didn't. Gajeel stared at his phone until it shut down on its own because the battery had died. Something which at least threw the man into action.

Turning the key in the ignition, Gajeel made it back to his apartment in record time. He ignored his roommate's questions as he rushed into his room and plugged in his phone. Impatiently, Gajeel drummed his fingers against his desk.

"Gajeel… It's already being reported on, are you…" Rogue didn't move from where he stood in the doorway. He also didn't bother to finish asking the question he already knew the answer to. "Gajeel, if you need anything, I'm here okay? I'm not really sure what you might need, but I want you to know that I'm here."

Gajeel only continued to stare at his phone, and Rogue backed up. "I'll send Yukino home now. I'll be in my room okay?" When Gajeel again didn't respond, Rogue disappeared from his doorway.

When Gajeel's phone turned back on, he groaned with annoyance. He still hadn't gotten another message. Was this psycho actually asking him to find Lucy without any kind of clue?

He wanted to just go to the police, but what could they do before the psycho did something to hurt Lucy? Gajeel was beginning to feel panicked.

Then, his phone buzzed, shocking Gajeel into motion as he practically dove for his phone.

 _Return to Lucy's apartment in four hours._

Against his better judgment, Gajeel did as his girlfriend's kidnapper asked. He went to Lucy's apartment. The doorway had yellow police tape across it. Clearly the police had gotten all that they needed. But he knew that they very well could revisit the scene of the crime if they felt that they needed to.

So he would have to be in and out as quickly as possible.

The place still smelled of the food that Lucy had made with the intention of feeding him. Gajeel felt so much frustration towards himself—he should have kicked his ego to the curb and asked for her number again. Then they would have realized what was going on much sooner. Before any of this could have even happened.

Shaking his head, Gajeel ducked under the tape and contemplated turning on a light. At this point, it was nearing midnight. It was nearly Halloween. Lucy's favorite holiday, though perhaps that would change after what had happened that day.

The thought made Gajeel's heart ache.

Instead of turning on a light, Gajeel pulled his cell phone out of his jeans pocket—he'd managed to put some actual clothes on before heading out this time—and activated the flashlight app he'd downloaded a while back. Though even that seemed a bit too bright for his tastes. It took a minute of playing around with the app settings before he was comfortable with the amount of light that it was casting off. He didn't want anybody to see the light and wind up calling the police. The last thing Gajeel needed was to be arrested.

"All right, what the fuck am I supposed to be looking for?" he muttered to himself as he began to look around. Nothing really seemed to be out of place save for the broken door. Gajeel was guessing that the police had taken Lucy's laptop as well as the cell phone that he'd watched them bag.

All the food was still laid out on the counter. Gajeel supposed it wasn't the police's job to clean all of that up, though it made him uncomfortable to know that the food would just sit out until somebody eventually came around to clean it up. Hell, he would have if it weren't for the fact that he wasn't even supposed to be there.

And he did have a time limit to worry about.

Gajeel had to have looked around the small apartment for an hour before he found anything that even remotely resembled a clue that he could use to find where Lucy was.

He felt strange being there, knowing that Lucy wouldn't be returning shortly.

Going through her stuff didn't really make him feel any better either, but he knew that it was the only way he would have a chance at getting her back. When he had the young woman in his arms again, he wasn't ever going to let her go.

He would get her to move in with him. He was sure that Rogue wouldn't mind since his girlfriend was over quite a bit of the time as well. They certainly had a large enough apartment to accommodate for Lucy.

A notification popped up on his phone's screen, catching his eye. A text message, perhaps another clue? He quickly poked the notification and grimaced at the words he read.

 _Tick tock, don't you know every second counts?_

It was not what Gajeel needed right then, to be taunted. As though the situation already wasn't bad enough. Grinding his teeth, Gajeel continued his search, deciding that he couldn't let the text message affect his judgment.

What Gajeel found was a small piece of paper that had been well hidden inside a heavily worn book. A Stephen King novel titled Misery that Lucy had on her bookshelf. Had it always been there?

Even then, it was difficult to tell if it was a clue. An address was scrawled sloppily in red ink. Certainly not Lucy's penmanship. He would look around a little bit more before going to check things out at the address. It would look strange if Gajeel wound up having to return to the apartment if it was a dead end, so he wanted to make sure that he'd gotten a good amount of searching done before leaving. He made damn sure that everything was exactly as he had found it.

When he made it back to his truck however…

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Gajeel demanded, having opened his driver's side door to find that Levy was promptly sitting in his passenger seat. She was dressed in all black and even wore a black hat and gloves. When she didn't turn her attention from the windshield to him, Gajeel almost growled when he repeated the question.

"I figured I would stay to see if Lucy made it home on her own," Levy began. "I know the chances of that happening are almost non-existent. But it's the most I can do at this point. But when I saw you pull up and head into the complex, I figured you knew more than you were letting on earlier, so I'm not going anywhere until you tell me why the hell you snuck into Lucy's apartment and were in there for over an hour."

Levy was lucky that she meant so much to Lucy, otherwise Gajeel might have snapped.

He first thought about the text message that he had received—it hadn't said anything about not telling a little blue-haired shrimp. And even if it had…there was no way the guy could have known.

Climbing into the truck for the hundredth time that night, he closed the door and poked at his phone for a few moments before handing it over to the eager midget. He watched as her eyes filled with tears, again.

"In or out," Gajeel said after a few minutes of silence passed. A statement that had more than one meaning, and Levy knew it. "Decide right fucking now. I don't want to waste more time because of you."

Swiftly wiping away her tears, Levy looked forward once more. "I'm going to help you. I'm in. Let's get going."

Gajeel nodded before he started up the truck and set on route. He knew the roads of Magnolia well enough to not need the GPS to get there.

He was relieved when Levy didn't try to talk more and despite the way he was acting, Gajeel was actually a little bit glad to have her along. Levy was very smart. Having her there would probably increase the chances of finding Lucy.

"You didn't know her…but Cana is also in this picture that you were sent." Levy was looking down at his phone. "I think this is probably about the guy who was stalking her over a year ago."

It was definitely good to have her along, Gajeel decided.

"I didn't even see another person in that picture," Gajeel admitted. His attention had certainly been taken completely by his injured blond girlfriend. He hadn't been able to notice much but her clear fear and the chains.

"Yeah, if I didn't stare at the image for a couple minutes, I might have missed it as well." Levy nodded. "The background is pretty dark because of the flash that had come from the—" Levy cut herself off before swiftly pulling the phone closer to her face.

"What?" Gajeel asked, glancing over at her for a second before returning his attention to the road. "Did another text message come?"

"No… I…" Levy was then digging through her pockets before pulling out her own phone. "I think this number is Lucy's."

"What? Really? I saw the police bagging up a cell phone when I got there before."

"Yes, it's the same as the one I have in my phone!" Levy seemed way too excited by the revelation.

"The bastard must have taken Lucy's phone when he took her, and decided that it would be funny to use her phone to communicate to me like this. Sick bastard."

"No, you don't understand!" Levy was smiling, Gajeel could hear it in her voice. "If Lucy's phone is on, I can see where she is on mine! It's a feature that all the newest iPhones have."

Gajeel's jaw dropped.

"Should I pull over?"

"No. I think you should still go to the address. We need to make it seem like we aren't onto him. He needs to think that he is the one in charge of the situation."

Gajeel was going to have to treat the nerd to a new book when all of this was over.

"Where does your phone say that Lucy is?" Gajeel demanded.

"It's going to take a minute. I should have gotten the latest iPhone, this one is from last year's release. Just give me a minute."

"Then you stay in the car. We're here. I'm going to go in and see what's inside."

Gajeel had nearly passed their destination it was so odd. There was only a mailbox, and no building.

"Where are you going in?" Levy asked, judgment clear in her tone.

"I'm going to open the mailbox—that should have been obvious."

Levy rolled her eyes before returning her attention to the phones. Gajeel approached the mailbox with caution—he didn't really know what to expect. He wasn't sure whether or not to be glad when he saw another piece of paper. Paper with that same scarlet ink.

"Good job," it read. "You've just extended Lulu's time! Can you keep up the good work? Next, go to the place where you and Lulu shared your first kiss."

This asshole had been watching them for a really long time if he knew where he and Lucy had shared their first kiss. It made him absolutely furious. He hopped back in the truck, the piece of paper crumpled in his fist.

Levy was pale and even appeared to be shaking a bit.

"What's the matter with you?" he asked, uncertain if he wanted to know the answer.

Wordlessly, Levy gave Gajeel back his phone, and he swallowed back bile when the text message registered.

 _So what is your piece of Lucy? I'll take a request on which part to have removed first._

"Come on, how much longer?! I don't want this guy to have her even another minute!"

"Almost… A-ha!" Levy shouted. "I've got it! I've…" Levy squinted at her phone as if she wasn't sure she had been reading it correctly. "This... It's saying that she is in the building right beside her apartment. But that can't be right."

A memory flashed into Gajeel's mind at those words.

 _\- Flashback -_

"What a cute idea!" Lucy was clearly excited over the new shop that would be opening right next to her apartment.

"You know there are parchment stores in town, right? It's not all that uncommon." Gajeel was amused by how excited Lucy seemed to be over the store.

"I know that!" Lucy elbowed Gajeel in the side as she laughed. "But it's so close to home! All I'd have to do is walk next door when I run out of paper instead of having to go into town! Just let me have this." Gajeel laughed.

"Potential customers?" Both Lucy and Gajeel turned to see a young man with brown-red hair standing there with a large crate in his arms. He'd asked the question as though it had been directed at both Gajeel and Lucy, though the guy's attention was definitely on Lucy alone.

"Oh, absolutely! I love writing on all kinds of paper! I'm a little bit sad that you aren't opening sooner!" Lucy appeared to be attempting to conceal her enthusiasm.

"Yeah, I just moved here. So I've got a little bit of preparing to do before it will be ready for you." He laughed, and Lucy laughed…while Gajeel glared. Was this guy actually flirting with his girlfriend right in front of him?

Lucy was beautiful, friendly, and an exceptional conversationalist. So it wasn't surprising that she drew the attention of other guys. Even sometimes other girls.

But always, Gajeel was able to give off strong enough "boyfriend" vibes so that other people typically avoided flirting while he was there with her.

This guy hadn't even spared Gajeel a single glance though.

"I'll make sure to get this place up. I hope you will be able to stop by when I do open up shop."

"Oh, I definitely will. I live close enough." Lucy laughed again, and Gajeel could have sworn that something flashed in that man's eyes, but whatever it was…was gone a second later.

"Come on, babe." Gajeel draped his arm across Lucy's shoulders. "The ice cream is going to melt if we don't get it into the freezer."

"Oh! I forgot about the ice cream." Lucy took Gajeel's free hand and offered a small smile at the paper man before the couple headed off.

 _\- End Flashback-_

That stare, that man. Had he been the one who had taken Lucy?

To think he and the police had been so close to her the entire time.

He peeled out of there and raced towards where he knew that Lucy was.

"Oh no…" Levy tapped her phone desperately. "It's… He knows that I was looking for her location. He knows, Gajeel!"

"Shit." Gajeel pushed the pedal to the floor of his truck.

They got back to Lucy's apartment complex in under five minutes.

"Call the police," Gajeel ordered as he hopped out of the truck. "This game is over."

Levy nodded before swiftly dialing while Gajeel ran to the front of the shop that Lucy had been so excited for. When the door proved to be locked, Gajeel didn't even hesitate to beat a large rock against it until it shattered.

When he managed to get inside, he wasn't sure what he should do next.

The inside of the building was all but empty. This guy clearly had no intentions of actually opening up a store. There were scraps laying around that told him that the man likely spent a lot of his time hunkering down in there. WcDonalds wrappers, empty soda cans. Gajeel even found several pictures of Lucy and the brunette—whose name was escaping him right that moment—it made him sick.

Ripping his shirt off, Gajeel returned to where he'd broken through the glass door and wrapped it around one of the larger pieces of shattered glass, a sharp piece that he deemed sturdy enough to use as a weapon. He wished that he hadn't stopped carrying around his switchblade. He hadn't wanted Lucy to think poorly of him. He couldn't believe the situation that was playing out.

For a moment, Gajeel listened for any indication of where Lucy might be. Then, he remembered just how dark it had been in that picture. While it was certainly dark where he stood, he could still see pretty well thanks to the street lamps just outside the storefront.

Down?

Gajeel pulled out his phone to use as a source of light for the second time that night. He needed to hurry. Who knew what that guy was doing right that moment. He must be panicking if he'd seen that somebody had pinned the location of Lucy's cell phone.

He couldn't hear anything though. There was no way that the bastard had managed to get both Lucy and Cana out of there before Gajeel had arrived.

Walking further, Gajeel eventually froze, noticing the change in the sound of his footsteps that had been echoing up until that moment. Stomping a couple times, Gajeel looked down.

Hollow.

There was a rug that looked extremely out of place in the middle of the linoleum flooring. It was only partially covering what appeared to be a hutch of sorts.

Opening it up, Gajeel shone the light of his phone downwards. It was pitch black down there. He knew how risky it would be to go down, but he couldn't wait for the cops to show up, he couldn't risk something happening to Lucy while he waited.

When he saw that the stairs were hollow, Gajeel ran down them as quickly as he could, unwilling to have somebody poke through one of the gaps between the stairs with a knife or something of the like.

When he made it to the bottom, he wrinkled his nose at the multitude of different stenches that greeted his nose. He'd never been around enough of it to really be able to say that he was familiar with the scent, though if he had to guess, the metallic smell was blood.

But Gajeel knew that Lucy was alive, so there was no way that she could have been the cause for the latter. But that didn't necessarily calm his nerves in the slightest

That almost overbearing scent of blood mixed with what he could only assume was the smell of human waste was nearly dizzying. He'd been down there not even a full minute, and his nose was already begging him for some fresh air.

"Gajeel?!" Lucy's voice sounded strained, and he spun around, waving his phone around, trying to see where her voice had come from.

"Don't move."

Gajeel froze when the light not only found Lucy, but also the man who had taken her. He held a knife to her throat.

Gajeel dropped his makeshift weapon immediately. "Hey, man, don't."

"You're forcing my hand, Gajeel." The guy shook his head. "It's such a shame. Look at how beautiful she is. What a waste for her to have to die so young."

Lucy began to cry, and Gajeel's face twisted as a thousand different emotions raced through him in that fraction of a second.

Lucy's eyes were wild as she tried to pull the guy's hand away from her throat.

"It's a shame that you were born so beautiful and with a heart of gold, you know? That is where things really started to go wrong for you, sweetie. You should know better than to be so nice to strangers. You never know what is going through their heads."

Sirens could be heard in the distance, and Gajeel knew that it wouldn't be long before they'd pull up to the building. But it wasn't fast enough. They weren't going to be fast enough.

A flash of rage flickered in the man's eyes.

"I told you not to involve the police." His grip on the knife changed, and Lucy cried out as the knife cut into the tender flesh at her throat.

"You didn't really leave me much of a choice." Gajeel gestured around, trying hard to not simply leap towards the two, knowing full well that it probably wouldn't do anything but ensure Lucy's death.

"You were supposed to play the game," the man growled. "You weren't supposed to cheat."

"You really are crazy if you thought for one second I wouldn't take the first shortcut that I found."

The sirens were louder now. They must have arrived. Levy was probably talking with an officer as they stood there. Gajeel had to keep the guy talking, had to keep him from doing anything drastic.

But how?

"I can't believe you would risk Lulu's life like that. I'm so shocked."

"Police! Don't move!" a man's voice exclaimed as the light of a flashlight found Lucy and her captor almost too easily.

Time almost seemed to move slowly after that. The look in the man's eyes spoke volumes, and Gajeel was shouting as the knife sliced at Lucy's throat. Blood sprayed out like a fountain, and Lucy dropped like a weighted ball as the man took off.

"Lucy!" Gajeel screamed as he dove for her.

She gurgled as she stared up at him with wide, terrified eyes.

The police officer ran past them, using his radio to inform that immediate medical assistance was required and that he was giving chase to the suspect.

Gajeel's hands were on Lucy's throat, attempting to slow the blood flow. Her eyelids fluttered once, twice…before she closed her eyes.

Everything after that was a blur; Gajeel couldn't recount all of the events even if he wanted to.

The brunette, Cana, was unconscious when the paramedics got down there, one person tended to her, but most of the immediate concern was for Lucy. Who was bleeding out fast.

One man placed a hand on Gajeel's shoulder, causing him to flinch in response.

Lucy was rushed to the hospital, and Gajeel was taken to the police station. They needed his full statement.

He told the police everything that he knew and was taken to the hospital when everything that could be said…was said.

Levy was already there by the time he arrived. Her face was blotchy, and it was clear that she'd spent the last few hours bawling her eyes out.

"She is in critical condition," she explained as he dropped into the chair beside her. "They aren't making any promises right now. She… Things aren't looking good, Gajeel. I called Aquarius. She hopped on the first flight that she could."

Gajeel didn't say anything. He simply sat there with his face in his hands.

He couldn't protect her, even when she'd been just a few feet away from him.

"Dammit," Gajeel cursed as he fought the sob that wanted to escape his tight throat.

For a long time they sat there. For a long time, they didn't receive any kind of news.

When a white coat finally walked into the room with a clipboard, Levy had fallen asleep, and it had to have been fairly early in the morning.

Gajeel elbowed Levy in the side, which jostled Freed, who she had been leaning on. Her boyfriend had shown up an hour or so prior.

"Are you friends or relatives of Lucy Heartfilia?" the doctor asked, though it seemed clear that he already knew the answer to that question.

Gajeel, Levy, and Freed all stood up.

"She's lucky," the doctor began. "The cut was shallow, likely due to the fact that the attacker was panicked. We were able to stabilize Miss Heartfilia, but she will require a lot of rest before she will be able to go home."

Levy sagged with relief, and Freed tightened his arms around her so that she wouldn't fall to the ground.

Gajeel's shoulders remained stiff. "Can I see her?" he asked.

"She is still unconscious, but yes. One person at a time please."

Gajeel, of course, was the first to walk into that room. The sound of machines beeping steadily probably should have been reassuring, but it didn't do anything but make the raven-haired man feel guilty.

Pulling up a chair, Gajeel took Lucy's hand and held it to his cheek. She felt cold, likely due to the fact that she had lost a lot of blood. Her throat was bandaged up, covering up any stitches that she may have needed. There were also bandages around her head, on her wrists and even around her neck.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered, his voice hoarse. "I will never let anything like this happen again, I swear it."

He must have fallen asleep, because when he awoke, there was a small blanket over his shoulders and his neck was awfully stiff from sleeping at an awkward angle.

Lucy was awake, and her eyes fell onto him when he jerked into an upright position.

She smiled before turning her gaze onto her lap, her hand was moving and he could see that she was holding a pen. Moments later, she held up a spiral notebook with the words _good morning, happy halloween!_ Written across it.

Gajeel had to force a smile on his lips as well as a pitiful laugh. "Some Halloween, huh? Do you think they will let me decorate the room for you?"

Lucy's eyes looked sad as she watched Gajeel speak before she began to write again.

 _Think I'll pass as a mummy?_ She grinned, and Gajeel had to look away.

"That's not funny, Bunny," Gajeel whispered as he stared at his clenched hands, which were still stained with a bit of red from the blood that had covered them less than twelve hours prior.

He felt a hand on his shoulder, and he looked up.

 _I'm going to be okay._

"How can you be so positive right now? After all that happened to you?" She had been put through so much, gone through way too much in just a few hours. It hurt his heart in ways he hadn't known were possible.

 _Because I'm alive, Cana is alive… You saved us, Gajeel._

Gajeel shook his head. "It was the midget that did most of the work. If it wasn't for her…"

"Oh, stop it." Gajeel jumped at the new voice and turned his head to see that Levy had been sitting in the room the whole time. "You were the one who came back to try to find Lucy yourself, remember? If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have known that the police didn't have Lucy's phone."

The two went back and forth for a while before Gajeel turned his slightly damp eyes toward his girlfriend.

"I love you," he whispered, giving her hand a squeeze.

 _I love you too._

* * *

 _Please drop a review if you enjoyed what you've read! I love to read reviews :D_


End file.
